Stay with Me
by rewriting-my-mistakes
Summary: April is a college student just trying to get by with her roommate who definitely has anger issues, trying to juggle school and work. To make things worse, she has insomnia and has to deal with her post-traumatic stress induced flashbacks. Her short fused roommate is the only one who she trusts, but will he be able to help her when her old abuser comes back?(OC/Karkat) (revised)
1. Poptarts and Mail

"Ivan Pavlov is the father of Classical Conditioning. He discovered he could teach dog to salivate at the sound of a bell…"

The professor droned on with the lecture, hands behind his back as he paced from one side of the room to the other. While most students were spacing off, doodling on their notebooks, or doing anything else unproductive, April Medina took her notes diligently as the professor's monotonous voice hummed in her ears. April's phone gave a curt buzz from her pocket, alerting her that someone was trying to text her. Continuing to write, she pulled out her phone and check the notification, it was from her roommate, Karkat.

 **Karkat: HEY YOU ALMOST DONE IN CLASS?**

April looked to the time, then to her notes, seeing the page was full of little notes.

 **April** **: Yeah, nearly done. Expect me in maybe a half an hour?**

 **Karkat: AWESOME**

 **Karkat: CAN YOU STOP BY THE STORE? GAMZEE IS COMING AND WERE OUT OF POPTARTS. YOU KNOW THAT ASSHOLE LOVES THOSE THINGS.**

 **April** **: Yeah! Sure thing. I'll be home in 45 then.**

 **Karkat: GOT IT. SEE YOU THEN.**

She put her phone back in her pocket and continued to write. The remainder of the class passed by quickly and without interruption. She began to put her things away as her teacher assigned the homework. A twenty page essay on the process of classical conditioning due next time the class meets. Good, at least it wasn't fifty pages like last time. she was the first to leave when the class dismissed, unlocking her bike from the rack and riding towards the Wal Mart. She picked up a few different boxes of poptarts, maybe this time they'll last longer.

She quickly finished her shopping, riding to the bus stop and waiting. It took a while, but it finally arrived at your stop. She put her bike on the rack in the front, then carried the few bags of groceries on board with her. The bus ride was longer than usual, and she spent most of the time on your phone. It took her all the self control she had to not break into the poptarts while she waited for her stop. Finally, she reached home, which was a small two-bedroom apartment. She set down her bike and opened the door, closing it behind her.

" 'm home!" she called as she set down her keys.

" Hey sis" greeted a familiar stoner from the couch, eyeing the grocery bags she was carrying "whatcha motherfuckin got there?"

"Your favorite." She said as she emptied the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Motherfuckin poptarts? Geez, sis. You all up n' know me so well." He gave a hoarse chuckle, immediately getting up to open a box.

"Where's Karkat?" She asked, putting some of the boxes away.

"He all up and left. Said he was gonna get the mail or somethin." he explained, shoving a frosted breakfast treat in his mouth.

April shrugged, making her way to the living room, " ...Wanna play mariokart?" She asked, turning on your wii.

"I'm always down for motherfuckin mariokart." The lanky stoner gave a soft chuckle before flopping on the couch.

"You **fucking** bitch! Did you _really_ just blueshell me?!" April growled at the stoner right as the door opens.

"Not my fault, sis. You were in first." Gamzee chuckled.

Karkat walked in, arms full of mail, "Hey. Im back."

"Hey Karkat!" She called back, not looking from the screen.

"How was class?" He inquired, setting down the mail.

"like usual, boring. He assigned us a twenty page paper this time."

"Jesus Christ, and it's due next lecture?"

"Mhm, but i took notes on the subject, so I should be able to get it done quick."

Karkat shuffled through the mail, picking up an envelope addressed to her, " Good. There's some mail for-" he paused, reading the label, then stayed silent.

"Dammit!" She cursed, losing the race to Gamzee, then turn to see your roommate" huh? What were you saying?"

He cleared his throat, hiding the envelope, "uh.. Nothing. Nevermind."

She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was acting so strange. Gamzee eyed the two as she got up, walking to Karkat.

"Come on, what is it?" She said, gesturing to the hand behind his back.

"Look, I told you it's fucking nothing, okay?" he told her again.

"Karkat, is it for me?" She demanded with her hand out, her eyes fixated on his

He hesitated, staring into her eyes-well, more like glaring. The two stayed like this until he finally gave in to April's pleading eyes. Grumbling, her roommate slapped the envelope into April's hand, a bit of pink dusting his cheeks.

"It's from your parents." He said, "knowing what they usually say, i wanted to save you the trouble."

April opened it immediately, taking out the contents. It was a letter. They always sent a letter when they wanted something from her. Her eyes skimmed over the cursive words, reading what the paper had to wanted: to visit. They even through in one of Mom's Famous Guilt Trips. She let out a scoff, tossing it to the paper on the counter and walking back to the couch.

"God, can you believe these people?" She said indignantly as she grabbed her controller, going back to the character select screen.

"What do those assholes want this time?" He sat in between her and Gamzee.

"What do they want every time? they want me to visit."

"You gonna go?"

"After all they've done to me? Fuck no!" She said, choosing her normal character.

Karkat chuckled, letting out one of his rare smiles, "Nice job finally putting your foot down." he grabs the third controller, joining the game.

April stared at the computer screen, typing at a million miles per hour, the only light in the room coming from the laptop. It was three AM, and she couldn't sleep. Karkat was long asleep, and she was bored. Having nothing else to do, she began working on her assignment. Five pages in, she got distracted and decide to go on facebook, which she hadn't checked in a couple months. April scrolled through past notifications, old school friends having children or getting married. It brings a small smile to your face. Her gaze wandered to the "people you may know" section. She added some people, one after another until-

Oh no

Oh _no_


	2. Her

**TW: rape/abuse mention**

April's eyes lingered on the face of the person on one of the profiles. It was her. A gasp escaped her lips as she pushed her laptop off of her, now noticing how hard it was to breathe. She thought she had seen the last of her. She thought that she never had to deal with her shit.

She was wrong.

 _April_ _barely make her way through the door before your lips were accosted by another's. She make a muffled sound as her girlfriend's hands make her way up her body. She gasped April's name as she pulled her to the couch, continuing to feel her. April squirmed under her touch. She pleaded for her to stop, calling her by her name, but she didn't listen and tried to remove April's clothes. Her breath reeked of alcohol, and this made her struggle even more. April pleaded again, trying to push her off. This only made her angry, pinning herarms back with one hand, groping her breast with the other_.

 _"Don't pretend you don't want it, whore. You're mine and I can fuck you when I want to."_

Karkat stumbled into the living room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He squinted at the light-emitting computer. He called her name groggily.

"Hey, what are you still doing up still…? You have work in the morning?" he said before hearing April's gasping sobs.

He called her name again, looking to you with concern. You were curled up into a ball, shielding your head and face, sobbing and quivering.

"Fuck.." he quickly came to her side, gently touching her shoulder. This caused her to flinch and cry out, "Hey, Hey, don't worry. Its alright.." He cooed gently.

She quickly wrapped arms around him, her tears wetting his shirt. His arms immediately surrounded her, hugging her tight.

"Don't worry... It's over. She's gone... Remember to breathe." He reassured her as he softly rubbed her back.

"Sh-she found me..!" April cried out, nodding to the laptop.

He takes the laptop with one hand, looking to the screen. Karkat rubbed her back, "Hey, its alright. You're safe. She hasn't found you. This is just the 'people you may know'..."

She didn't listen to him, and continued to ramble and blubber to him. This continued for a while until she realized the mistake, having been confused by the sudden flashback.

After a while, she pulled away, wiping the tears from her face, "Th-thanks…" you say in almost a whimper.

"Don't mention it." he said, smiling reassuringly, "let's get you to bed…"

He helped April up, guiding her to her bed. She just about face-planted onto the bed with exhaustion. She closed her eyes, thinking he would just leave. However, April felt someone get in bed beside her.

"...Karkat..?" April asked meekly.

He gave a questioning grunt.

"..What are you doing..?"

"Making sure you sleep without incident." Karkat quickly became worried, starting to sit back up,"I mean. If that's okay. I'll leave if you wanna just be alone. Fuck, im sorry-"

"It's okay Karkat. You can stay…"

He smiled softly, laying down beside her. She let out a sigh of relaxation, a small tint of blush on her cheeks. That night was the best sleep April had in weeks.


	3. Late Night Chats

It had been a couple days since April's flashback, and she was still taking time to recuperate. It was always hard to come back from things like that for her. April took a sip of your coffee as she checked her email on her phone. She hadn't been able to touch her laptop since that night. She just couldn't. Karkat was on the couch, watching one of his movies. Her eyes couldn't help but stray to him, constantly flitting from phone to him to phone to him.

"No, nonono don't you DARE get on that fucking plane, Sandra!" He yelled at the woman in the TV.

His sudden outburst towards the characters brought a smile to her face. She loved how he acted like they could hear him. It was adorable.

"You know, Karkat…" She said as she sat next to him on the couch, "I don't think they can hear you. Maybe speak louder." April chuckles at her words.

He scoffed at her, shaking his head, "Shut up."

She chuckled, drinking more of her coffee.

Today was one of the rare days that April had neither work nor school, so she sat on the couch most of the day. Karkat had to go to work in the middle of the day, and she spent the majority of the afternoon alone. After a couple of hours of Karkat being gone, April got bored. She broke into Karkat's movie stash, playing a random disk. "The Proposal". Nice.

Hours later, Karkat returns, "Home." he called to you as he closed the door behind him.

She didn't answer, her knees pressed to her chin as she watched one of his movies.

"Hey, did you hear me?-" He asked, walking into the living room, "Oh. 50 First Dates. Good pick!" He flopped down next to her.

"How was work?" She asked quietly.

"Tiring."

"I see."

"Oh, I got you this, by the way." he reaches into his pockets, throwing April a bag of skittles.

She jumped a bit, taking the bag in her hand, "oh! Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. It was a buy one get one free. I already ate mine."

April opened the bag, beginning to eat its contents. The movie ends soon enough, and she continued to hang out with him, talking about whatever came to mind. Music was playing softly in the background. In the middle of the conversation, Karkat went into the kitchen, digging through the fridge for a beer.

"Want one?" he offered, grabbing his own.

"Hm?" April turned to see him grabbing a beer, "Oh, yeah! Thanks."

Karkat grabbed a second one and walked back to the couch, "Sorry, What were we talking about?"

"Back in high school." She reminded him, opening your beer and taking a sip.

"Oh! Right!" He opened his own and began drinking too, "How was it at your high school?"

You give a shrug, "it was good, i guess. It certainly wasn't the _best_ but I made do"

"You in any clubs back then?"

"Drama Club. But I almost never showed up." April said with a scoff, "You?"

"Computer club." he took another sip, "but I was fucking terrible at it."

"You were a computer nerd?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah, not really. Now, my friend, Sollux, definitely deserves that title. Think you've met him before at that party."

"The guy with the glasses and the messy hair?"

"Yeah, that's him." He said with a chuckle, "He and I were pretty tight before graduation… i need to visit the asshole soon."

April nodded, "Maybe invite him over sometime!"

"You'd be okay with that?"

"Of course!"

"Sweet! Maybe next week or something." Karkat gave a small grin.

April and Karkat continued to talk into the night, the conversation shifting from school to show interests to school again, really anything that came to mind. It reminded her of the days back in high school, the days where the two typed away on their computers, miles apart but still so close. It reminded her of the days before _she_ plagued her life. No matter what, he was there for her, and the fact that he was there for her even after everything made her ecstatic.

"Hey, immuna go to the bathroom real quick." Karkat said, getting up.

April nodded, looking up at him with drowsy eyes. Glancing to the clock on her phone, she yawned.

"Jesus, it's four thirty!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know." he said with a chuckle, "We've been talking for hours. Sit tight, I'll be back."

Karkat came back minutes later, sauntering back into the room, "anyways, what were we-"

He looked down to see April, already asleep. She was in an odd position, and it didn't look too comfortable. Karkat smiled softly and he bent over to pick her up- he couldn't just leave her there. April stirred slightly, but didn't wake as he carried her to her bed. Tucking her in, he lay down beside her, making sure she didn't wake up in a panic.

"G'night." he said to April's sleeping form before closing his eyes.


	4. Finals

It was December. The semester was coming to a close, but April's stress was through the roof. Finals were coming to a close, and god damn it if she failed, she felt her life would be over. She read over her old notes a fifth time as she sat at the table. She heard the door open.

"M'home." Karkat called, mail in hand and backpack in the other, he shut the door behind him, "I got the mail, too."

"Hey." April droned, not looking away from her notes.

Karkat raised an eyebrow at her, "You still on that?"

She gave a nod, and he dropped the mail on the counter. Sifting through the mail, he stopped at a certain envelope. Rolling his eyes, he tossed you the envelope.

"It's them again." He grumbled.

April's eyes strayed from her work to the letter, and she reluctantly opened it. Her eyes flew across the words, nearly expecting what they were going to say. However, the tone was different. They were usually self-pitying, feeling sorry for themselves as they tried to get as many jabs at her as possible. However, they just had a simple request, nothing more.

"They… Want me to come home for Christmas." She said softly.

"Really?" Karkat asked, "Do you know if you're gonna go?"

"I... I.." She thought about it, she truly wasn't sure.

"You know what? You don't need this right now." He snatched the letter from her hands, "You're fucking stressed enough as it is. You gotta be focus on school, not your shitty parents." He folded the paper and promptly put it on top of the fridge, "You can think about it after you pass your finals."

April nodded, going through your notes again. Her heart fluttered a bit as she noticed he had said "after you pass," not "if you pass." She shook her head, trying to focus as Karkat sat on the couch. It was silent as her thoughts ran a hundred miles per hour. She sighed, not looking up from your papers.

"...Hey Karkat?" April finally asked.

He gives a question grunt.

"If.. if I went up to see my parents.. Will you come with me…?"

He paused, before sighing, "Tell you what," He said, turning back to her, "When you pass your finals, I'll come with you.."

That was enough motivation to get her going. She continued studying, her eyes filled with determination.

…

April looked up at the poster of scores on the wall before you. Scanning down, she found her ID number. Her palms sweat, her heart was ready to stop at any given moment. She could barely contain your anxiety, letting out a shaky breath to calm herself.

'I did well, I had to have done well.. I worked hard for this.' She thought to herself, hesitating to find her score. Following the row with her student ID, a certain score caught her attention. She had the third highest score in the class. She let her anxiety melt away as she turned to leave. April looked back to her roommate, giving him a triumphant grin.

"You passed?" He asked, smiling.

She nodded excitedly, "With flying colors!"

He grinned, wrapping his arms around April and spinning her around, "See? I told you that you had that test in the fucking bag!"

A blush spread across her face, and she laughed, "Thanks.." she said as he set her down.

He laughed back, "Well, I guess we should get packing!"

She paused, "Wait, you're really coming?" She asked, eyes.

"Of course!" He said beginning to walk with her back towards his car, "I made a deal, didn't I?"

She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, turning red, "Thanks, Karkat, this means a lot to me."

She could feel his cheeks get warm and he slowly hugged back, "Don't worry about it, okay?" He said, "To be honest, I would've gone with you even if we didn't make that deal. I had always wanted to meet your parents."

"Pfft." She scoffed, "Because they're _such_ good people."

"I mean," He shrugged, "They had you; that's gotta count for something."

She pulled away and laughed, "Wow, you're just compliment after compliment today, aren't you?"

The two began to walk again, "Yeah, I'm fucking generous with compliments right now, aren't I?" Karkat asked, as if surprised with himself, "I didn't realize, I've just been telling the truth."

April shook her head, chuckling a bit,"Whatever, dork." You give him a playful shove, "Let's just get to the car, I'm freezing my ass off."


	5. Christmas with the Parents

April stood in front of the door of her childhood home, thumb hovering over the doorbell as she hesitated to ring it. This had been the first time she had visited since she moved out. Gripping her suitcase in your hand tighter, she glanced to Karkat nervously.

"I'm warning you," She said to him, "They're really bad."

He gave her a reassuring smile, "It's going to be fine. Now, are you going to ring the fucking doorbell or not?"

She smiled back and rang the doorbell, waiting for her parents to answer the door. April's mom opened the door, and she practically cried her name to the heavens before the woman pulled her into a soul-crushing hug.

"Oh, goodness!" her mother said, looking to Karkat. She leaned back into the house, yelling to the other family member, "Hun! She's here! And she brought a _guy_!"

"Thank the Lord!" April's father rejoiced, coming to the door. He smiled and introduced himself, reaching to shake hands with Karkat, "What's your name boy?"

"Karkat, sir. Pleased to meet you." Karkat said as politely as he could, shaking the man's hand.

"Oh!" He turned to her and her mother, "Polite, and a good grip. I like this one!"

Karkat gave a nervous chuckle and looked to April. She was smiling, but she honestly was thinking how far she could run if she made a break for it. April knew this was the calm before the storm, that soon they were going to start talking to Karkat and ask him whether they were already having sex. Though, she knew there was no point in telling them that they weren't dating.

"Alright, don't just stand in the cold!" Her mom told her and Karkat, "Come in, Come in! I wanna hear all about you!"

They lead them to the living room, where a giant Christmas tree stood. It was decorated top to bottom with ornaments of all kinds. April recognized a few crafts she did as a child, heat rising to her face. However, most of the decorations were new. She was beginning to wonder how your parents could afford all of this.

"Hey mom," She asked, "Where did you get all this stuff?"

"Oh! You mean the decorations?" She asked, "Your friend got these for us!"

April stopped, looking to her mother, "What friend?"

"Y'know, I can't really remember her name," She said, waving her hand, "She'll be over later tonight, don't worry!"

"Now, do you want to put your guy's stuff in your room, dear?" Her father said to her.

April nodded, "C'mon, Karkat."

She led Karkat up the stairs, and he whispered in your ear, "..Do they think we're dating…?"

"Most likely."

He nodded, and she opened the door to her room. Immediately, she was hit with embarrassment. It was the embodiment of a teenager's bedroom. Posters of the different bands she liked littered the wall, and books upon books piled on the shelves. She surprised that your parents had kept your room intact and that they didn't turn it into an office.

"Welp," You said to Karkat, "This is it."

She stepped in and set your suitcase down, "It's dorky, I know...I decorated it when I was thirteen."

He looked to one poster in particular, "High School Musical?" He said with a chuckle.

"Like I said: thirteen."

He smiled, setting down his suitcase, "nicer than the room I had in high school." He said, looking around more.

"Oh?" She asked, wanting to hear more.

"Yeah, it wasn't this big, and it had holes all over the walls."

"Holes?"

"I was an angry kid."He explained smiling a bit, "When I got angry, I got physical. I'd punch my wall over and over… I even have a scar from when i cut my hand on the drywall." he showed her his right hand, a slight scar on his knuckles.

"Ouch!" April grimaced, "It didn't hurt?"

Her roommate chuckled, "Oh, it hurt like a bitch," He said, "but I thought I had to be tough about it. Y'know, I never told my dad." He sat on the bed, still smiling, "I didn't want him to chew me out for punching walls again."

She smiled, "I know, I feel you." April looked around at the room as if searching for something, "Some of these posters are on the wall for the sole purpose of hiding some holes in the wall."

She looked to a singular poster on the wall her bed was against, "Like this one. I trying to get a running start into my bed, but I ended up drop-kicking the wall and making a giant hole right there."

He gave a laugh, looking at the poster, "No one would suspect it." he said, "The perfect crime!"

They both laughed, laying back on your old bed. A part of April began to not mind that she back at her parent's house. As long as Karkat was with her, she didn't care. He always had a way of calming her down, bringing her down to Earth. As long as your best friend was there, she felt like she could withstand anything.

...

"You know," April's mom said to her and Karkat as she sat down adjacent from them in the living room, "I'm so relieved when April brought you. See, when she left, she was going through this phase where she thought she was gay."

"Thank god she grew out of that and got a boyfriend!" Her dad chimes in.

April felt her face heat up, and she saw Karkat's cheeks darken as well, "..Actually.." he began, "We're not dating."

"And I'm still gay, Mom."

She shut up, "Oh, well. You'll get over it." She said dismissively, walking into the kitchen

Karkat looked over to see April, seething as she tried to contain her rage. Honestly, she didn't know why she came here. All they did was insult her. Karkat placed a hand on hers, smiling reassuringly. April smiled back, feeling her anger simmer down. Suddenly, an electronic ping echoed inside the house. Someone was at the door.

"Ooh!" Your mother said, "That must be your friend; I've got it!"

She practically ran to the door, quickly opening it up, "Hello!" She said to the person on the other end of the door.

"Hi!" greeted a familiar voice.

April's heart dropped, and her face turned a ghastly white. Her stomach twisted as the voice echoed in her ears. The frightened girl shot up on her feet to look. Karkat looked to her with curiosity and concern.

This couldn't be good.


End file.
